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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620948">Polish and Piercing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/havenshereagain/pseuds/havenshereagain'>havenshereagain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Autistic Matteo [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Druck | SKAM (Germany)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Autistic Matteo, M/M, Nail Polish, Piercing, gender non-conforming matteo, gnc matteo, of course</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:26:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,860</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620948</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/havenshereagain/pseuds/havenshereagain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Matteo's mind gets caught in the idea of a piercing, and the idea of different gender stereotypes. He decides he does not like them. </p>
<p>This falls within my autistic Matteo series, but also works as a standalone story. It takes place in January/February 2020.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matteo Florenzi/David (Druck)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Autistic Matteo [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>76</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Polish and Piercing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This idea has sort of been floating around my head for a while now, and I'm glad to finally get it out there. This is based on my own experiences being autistic, and also my own experience getting a helix piercing several years ago. Things may be different in Germany, but I did the best research I could. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me over on Tumblr, havenshereagain. Also, huge thanks to Harper (@gleedegrassi-bigfan) as usual for encouraging me, and also to a friend who asked to remain anonymous for helping answer some questions and thoughts on the idea of Matteo being gender non-conforming.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Matteo laid in David's bed scrolling through Reddit, pausing on different memes, upvoting a few from r/Gamingcirclejerk, before coming across a post from r/piercing and pausing. It was of a bearded man with a black gauge in his right ear, and a small silver stud in his right nostril. He'd subscribed to r/piercing after starting to date David, showing him the occasional post of different jewelry he thought David may enjoy, but this was the first time he'd seen a man with a nose piercing that wasn't a septum. </p>
<p>He scrolled to the comments, reading through a few before pinching his nose, thinking of how it would look if he were to get a piercing. Then he went back to his home page and continued scrolling, but he couldn't get the idea of a nose piercing out of his head. </p>
<p><em>Why is it so hard to find pictures of guys with nose piercings,</em> he thought as he continued scrolling. It just wasn't something he'd seen often, despite most redditors being guys, most r/piercing posters were girls, or nonbinary, which struck him as odd once he realized it. </p>
<p>"Hey David?" he asked, looking up from his phone. David turned from his place at his desk, looking at Matteo laying on his stomach on the bed. Once David looked toward him, he continued, "did you notice most people in r/piercing are girls?" There was a pause, David mulling over the question.</p>
<p>"I hadn't really thought about it," he responded, leaning against his chair, eyes fixed on Matteo. It was silent for another few seconds, Matteo continuing to scroll through his phone, before David questioned, "why?" Matteo looked up at him and furrowed his brows, slightly confused. After a moment, David clarified, "why are you thinking about who's posting on r/piercing?" </p>
<p>He shrugged, looking back to his phone. "Just a post I saw," he said. David continued looking at him for a moment before shrugging and going back to his work. Matteo sat up and leaned against the wall at the head of David's bed, fingers twisting into the hem of his sweater. He sighed then asked, "have you ever seen a guy with a nose piercing?" His fingers continued twisting the hem of his sweater as he nervously looked up at David. </p>
<p>David turned back, looking Matteo over before saying, "yeah, I've seen a few. Why? Thinking of getting one?" At that, a grin broke over David's face. Matteo shrugged, fingers coming back up to his nose to pinch at it, where he thought a piercing would go. </p>
<p>"Maybe," he responded quietly, a small smile playing on his lips. After a moment, he dropped his hand back to the hem of his sweater, fingers immediately twisting the fabric around. The idea of thanking Leonie and Sara for the sweater again passed through his head, as the fabric was perfect for him, but he'd probably sent them each a text every other time he'd worn it since getting it from them back in October. </p>
<p>The post kept popping up in his head over the next few days, along with the questions it brought up. After about a week and a half Matteo thought to himself <em>why is this bothering me so much?</em> Before wiping the thought from his head. If he thought too much about it, he knew it would lead him down a rabbit hole he didn't feel ready to explore. </p>
<p>That night, while David was changing for bed he brought it up again. "What is it about piercings that mostly girls have them?" he asked quietly, head propped up in his hand as he watched David struggle out of his binder, wiggling the tight fabric over his shoulders and head. </p>
<p>David hummed, signaling that he'd heard Matteo, but was thinking before responding. He pulled a sleep shirt over his head and kicked his sweats off, and only once he was climbing under the covers next to Matteo did he respond, "I guess because, in history, women were the ones getting piercings, for whatever reason. So they've become associated with women, but that's falling out of popular thought lately because a lot more guys have been getting piercings. The gender roles aren't as strict as they used to be." </p>
<p>Things grew quiet as Matteo processed and mulled over what David had said. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, trying to understand what about this was bothering him so much. After everything with David he thought he was past struggling with heteronormative gender roles, but now it seemed that it wasn't actually that simple. </p>
<p>The rest of that night, they didn’t talk about it, David letting Matteo keep his thoughts to himself as he worked them out. It was the following afternoon that Matteo brought it back up, laying on the floor in David and Laura's living room and throwing and catching a ball he'd brought from his apartment to stim with. "I think I wanna mess around with gender presentation stuff," he said, voice shaking. </p>
<p>There was a pause and Matteo stopped throwing for a second to look at David, who gave him a half smile. "Okay," he responded quietly. Matteo resumed tossing the ball and a moment later, David asked, "what were you thinking?"</p>
<p>At that, Matteo shrugged, not having fully thought through this conversation. "I mean," he started, processing aloud, as he often did with David, "I'm pretty sure  I wanna get my nose pierced but like, that seems a bit much for a first step I guess? Like, what if I decide I don't like that?" He looked towards David, who nodded, and prompted him to continue. "So I guess one good thing would be like, painting my nails? Cause I could always just take off the nail polish if I don't like it." </p>
<p>David smiled and stood, before leaving the room and calling over his shoulder, "I'll be right back." So Matteo sat, throwing the ball and, as he often did when in silence, started tutting. A few minutes later, David re-entered the room, the sound of glass clanking against the floor startling Matteo, who sat up. "They’re Laura's," David explained as Matteo picked up one of the bottles, a deep blue, "I figured she won't mind if you borrow one." </p>
<p>He stared at it for a moment, then moved to open it before pausing and looking at David. "You're better at art than me," he said, shoving the bottle towards him, "will you do it for me?" David chuckled, grabbing the bottle from Matteo's outstretched hand and opening it before gently setting it on the ground between them. Then he gently grabbed Matteo's hand, painting thin layers of the nail polish on each of his nails. </p>
<p>After the first hand David paused, letting Matteo look at it. It was quiet in the apartment as Matteo stared at his hand, "if you don't like it, we can take it off," David whispered, something about the moment pushing him towards quietness. Matteo shook his head, a smile breaking over his face as he shoved his other hand towards David, nearly knocking the bottle over. </p>
<p>"Fuck," he mumbled, pulling his hand back away from the bottle. "Sorry. But no, I like it. A lot, actually." A light blush dusted his cheeks, slightly embarrassed to admit to it. He gently reached his hand back out towards David, more careful of the nail polish. While David painted his left hand he absentmindedly flapped his right hand, like he'd seen girls do in movies to dry their nails. </p>
<p>David looked up at him for a moment, smiling, before focusing again on the task at hand. A few moments later he let go of Matteo's hand, allowing him to also flap that one - a process that served both to dry his nails, and as a stim in place of the ball he didn't think he should throw while his nails dried. After a few minutes of flapping while David went to put the nail polishes away and grab his sketchbook, Matteo stopped and stared at his freshly painted nails. The smile on his face said more than words could have. </p>
<p>Throughout the week though, David noticed him picking it off. In quiet moments, while he wasn't paying attention, like while watching a movie, he'd chip away at the nail polish slowly, and by the following Monday there was nearly no paint left. "You know," David said, gently grabbing Matteo's hand as he chipped at the polish with his thumb while they laid in Matteo's bed that afternoon, "they make nail polish remover if you want to take it off." Matteo shook his head, pulling his hand back and looking at both.</p>
<p>"It's not that," he sighed, "I like having it, but it's also like, a built-in stim? Like, having the nail polish just gives me one more way to stim by chipping at it. And I just sort of do it, without really meaning to." As he spoke, he moved one hand to the hem of his sweatshirt, fingers twisting around in the material. </p>
<p>"Okay," David said, nodding. "Well then, how about whenever you want, just ask me to repaint them?" Matteo nodded, eyes not quite focused on David as he thought. </p>
<p>After a moment of silence, he asked, "can we go buy some and you re-do them now?" David laughed but nodded, getting up. For once, Matteo was quick to get up and ready, beating David to the front door. That afternoon, he grabbed a few different colors of nail polish, as well as nail polish remover, at David's insistence (what if you still have some left but want to redo them?). </p>
<p>When they got back, David painted his nails black. He'd gotten a few colors, so they wouldn't need to run to the store (or Laura's room) whenever he wanted to paint his nails, but they were mostly more muted colors, black, dark blue, gray. Colors that he liked, but that also felt easier to explain away. David also grabbed a few random colors, saying it was in case Matteo wanted something different to his selection. </p>
<p>The first of the boys to notice was Jonas. They hadn't had as much time to hang out since Matteo had his job at the restaurant, Jonas at the youth center, and Carlos his apprenticeship. They were able to get together that Wednesday, and most of Matteo's nail polish was still intact. The four of them (minus David, who decided to have a sibling night with Laura) decided to play a Mario Party drinking game, following rules that Abdi had found. </p>
<p>Jonas noticed when Matteo was handing him the bottle opener, having just opened his own beer and preparing to start the game. "Hey brudi," he said, "what's up with the nail polish?" His voice just sounded curious, which helped Matteo keep calm as he shrugged, despite feeling his face heat up at the question.</p>
<p>"Just thought it looked cool," he responded before taking a sip of his beer. His free hand fidgeted with a loose thread on the pillow in his lap. Abdi and Carlos were talking about some girl Abdi had met at a bar the previous weekend, entirely unaware of the conversation Jonas and Matteo were having. Matteo looked up at Jonas who nodded while Matteo put his drink on the coffee table. </p>
<p>"Nice," he said after a pause. "It does look pretty cool, honestly. Wanna paint mine sometime?" At that Matteo laughed and relaxed back into the couch. </p>
<p>"Dude, I don't even paint my own," he told him, laughing  "David does it for me. You think I could actually get them to look this good myself?" He held up his hands, showing Jonas, as well as Carlos and Abdi, who had started paying attention after Jonas passed along the bottle opener. </p>
<p>"You're right," Jonas laughed, "you're not coordinated enough to pull that off. I'll just have to ask Hanna." Abdi and Carlos went back to their conversation about the girl, and Matteo was grateful that the conversation was relatively uneventful, thanks to Jonas being so chill about it. </p>
<p>A few weeks later Hans (who had had pretty much no reaction upon noticing Matteo's nail polish the first time he wore it) had him, David, Vicky and Laura do a nail painting party the night before Valentine's day. After much insistence from David and Hans that he "celebrate" the holiday, he let David paint his nails a bright red Vicky had. That was the fastest he'd picked off any nail polish, asking David only four days later to repaint his nails a dark gray. </p>
<p>The whole time, his brain kept going back to the thought of the nose piercing that had led him down this path. He had saved the post on Reddit, and would occasionally go back to it, looking at the small silver stud on the man's nose. Most times, he'd bring a hand to his own nose, pinching the same spot on his left nostril and imagining himself with a thin silver hoop. </p>
<p>While David was repainting his nails gray, he brought it up again. "So uh," he started, clearing his throat. David looked up at him expectantly, only looking back at Matteo's nails once he continued, "I've been thinking and uh, I think I do wanna get my nose pierced." After a moment of silence David put the brush back into the bottle and looked up at Matteo with a small smile.</p>
<p>"Okay," he responded, "have you done any research on piercing shops or anything?" Matteo shook his head. He'd been thinking about it, but mostly just looking at pictures on r/piercing and all the tips they had on piercing care. "Well," David said, picking up the brush again and resuming painting Matteo's nails, "after this we can do some research, alright?" At that Matteo nodded, shaking out his right hand after David finished with it. </p>
<p>That night they did research into the piercing shops in the area, but decided to keep a few in mind and finalize the decision later on, when they weren't so tired from work or classes. </p>
<p>They spoke the next day about the argument Matteo had had with his father, and Matteo decided he was finally ready to talk to his father again. It didn't take long, as that Friday evening, he called. </p>
<p>David was sat next to Matteo when it happened, watching a movie together on Matteo's bed. "Are you ready?" David asked when he saw who was calling. Matteo nodded, took a deep breath and pressed the accept button. They spoke in Italian, for the sake of privacy. </p>
<p>Matteo started the call off by telling his dad about the sous chef position he'd gotten at a local restaurant, and how he planned on moving up within the restaurant's system. The classes he'd been looking into to do so. But it wasn't long before his dad changed the conversation, bringing up his mother. That was when Matteo started picking at his already chipped nail polish.  </p>
<p>It started innocently enough, just simple questions on how she was doing, now that he'd been gone a while. Matteo answered honestly, his voice harsh. His father knew his mother had been to therapy, but not the extent that it had reached, and Matteo didn't want to divulge that she'd started anti-depressants since he'd left. From there, his father started saying that Matteo should also go to therapy, and it took him entirely too long to process what exactly his father was saying, forgetting that his father had no clue about his depression, and knowing his mom wouldn't have spoken to him, let alone told him about Matteo being autistic. </p>
<p>After a moment of sitting while his father listed off some "therapists" he had heard about in Berlin that Matteo should look into, it clicked that he meant conversion therapy. Immediately, Matteo started in on him, "there's nothing wrong with me being gay. I like men, so what, end of story. It's not going to change. I'm happy, and I'm in love with someone who loves me and cares about me more than you ever did. Mom's religious too, you know, and all she's ever done is love David the same as she would have if I brought home a girl. You know what she said to me when I told her all the homophobic shit you spouted off last time? "Judge not, that you not be judged." How about that?" </p>
<p>His father tried covering his own tracks, going back on his own words, but Matteo couldn't listen to him. Within two minutes, he had hung up the phone, still nervously picking at his nail polish. He sat and talked with David about everything that had been said, angry that his father had even thought to bring up conversion therapy as an option while also avoiding using the word gay. </p>
<p>When the conversation was almost finished he looked down at his hands and realized he'd picked all of his remaining nail polish off, and had even started picking at the skin hanging off around his nails without realizing it. "Shit," he mumbled, moving his hands to the hem of his sweatshirt to keep them away from each other. </p>
<p>They finished the conversation normally, but then David asked to see his hands, having noticed the picking, and sudden stop. As David looked at his hands, Matteo really examined them for the first time. There was a small scab on his left thumb, and another on his right ring finger, but the skin was fine for the most part. His nail polish was entirely gone. </p>
<p>"Do you want me to repaint them?" David asked quietly, rubbing a thumb along Matteo's knuckles. His eyes were still glued to his hands, hesitant to believe he'd somehow chipped his nail polish clean off, and ripped up the skin on his nails without noticing at all. He nodded, words stuck in his throat. There was silence for a moment before David got up to grab the nail polishes. </p>
<p>When he came back to the bed, Matteo had shaken himself out of his stupor, and was back from disbelief to anger. "What's the most feminine color we have?" he asked David as he sat back down. David shrugged and handed Matteo the plastic container that held his nail polishes. He dug through it, finding the brightest color he could, a bright purple David picked out when they first bought them. </p>
<p>It was silent as David painted his nails, besides the noise of Matteo shaking his left hand once it was finished. Matteo only started talking again once both his hands were done, and the nail polish was safely off the bed. "I want to say like, a "fuck you' to him," he explained, shaking his hands as he spoke. "So like, I think I want to get my nose pierced tomorrow, cause I was gonna do it anyways, right? And then I'll post a picture with my pierced nose and bright fuckin' purple nails, I'm sure that'll make its way back to him. Hell, send it to my mom, I'm sure she'll post it somewhere he'll see." </p>
<p>David listened, wide eyed, but without saying anything until Matteo was clearly finished. "Okay," he responded. "So tomorrow we're going to get your nose pierced?" A nervous smile broke over Matteo's face as he nodded. </p>
<p>"Hell yeah we are," he said. After discussing the specifics, and checking the studio's website for hours and pricing, they went back to watching the movie they'd started before the phone call, deciding to start over when they both realized they'd forgotten the beginning in the mess of earlier. The rest of the night passed relatively uneventfully, but while brushing his teeth Matteo looked at himself in the mirror, pinching his left nostril and reminding himself that tomorrow was the day. </p>
<p>He had trouble sleeping that night, not from sensory input, but the sheer thought that the next day he'd be paying someone to punch a hole out of his face. Logically, he knew how this worked. He'd watched videos, done his research into it as much as he felt he could, including the aftercare process and the sorts of things he should and shouldn't do while his piercing healed. </p>
<p>At some point he'd managed to fall asleep, but he woke up early the next morning, nervous energy lighting up his body. He turned over, looking at David, still asleep, then checking his phone. It was entirely too early, but he knew he'd be unable to fall back to sleep, so he scooted closer, wrapping himself around David's back. A few minutes later, David woke up, stretching against Matteo before turning himself around and quietly saying, "good morning. Why are you awake?" Matteo shrugged and pushed himself against David's chest, head buried in the crook of his neck. </p>
<p>"Can we just go now?" he mumbled into David's neck. He felt David chuckle and shake his head. </p>
<p>"The shop doesn't open till 1:30," he responded, leaning away for a moment to grab his phone and check the time. "It's only 9:15." At that, Matteo only wrapped himself more firmly around David, determined to stay in bed for a while before actually preparing for the day. That only lasted about an hour before his stomach started rumbling. David tried to sit up, Matteo still wrapped around him. "Come on," he said, pulling at Matteo's arms, "lets go make breakfast."</p>
<p>Matteo sighed, slowly pulling away from David and immediately missing the warmth he provided. He was slow to dress, feet dragging the whole time. The kitchen was empty besides David, who was looking in a cabinet, grabbing two mugs. "I don't want any coffee," Matteo said, and David quirked an eyebrow but put one of the mugs back before closing the cabinet. "I'm gonna make myself pasta, what do you want?" </p>
<p>David went about making himself coffee, humming in acknowledgement. "I think I'll just have some toast with jam," he responded after a moment. Matteo shrugged, already in the process of making his pasta. The rest of the morning passed relatively uneventfully. They decided to leave the apartment around 1, hoping to be the first customers in that day, and avoid any sort of crowd. </p>
<p>Throughout the bus ride to the shop, Matteo fidgeted with the keychain fidget that the boys had gotten him for his birthday with one hand, the other hand wound tightly around David's. As they walked up to the shop's door, he pulled out his wallet, fumbling for his ID card. David opened the door for him, and he bowed slightly before entering, this time more to calm his own nerves than David's. </p>
<p>"How can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked when they entered. Matteo startled for a second, recognizing the man from photos on his website. He also realized that the counter was actually one long case filled with jewelry.  </p>
<p>"I, uh," he tried, then cleared his throat. "I'd like to get my nose pierced." The piercer nodded at him and Matteo's fingers twisted in his jacket pocket as he stepped up to the case, putting his ID on it. He felt David at his side, and looked over his shoulder at him with a nervous smile.</p>
<p>"I need you to sign this," the piercer said, sliding a paper and pen across the case. Matteo picked up the pen and tapped it against the glass as he skimmed through the paper in front of him. It was a simple consent form, acknowledging that he was of age and knew any possible consequences, and he signed it before sliding it back across to the piercer. "What kind of jewelry are you looking to get?"</p>
<p>Matteo hummed, peering down into the case. After a moment he pointed out a small silver disk, "I like the look of that piece," he said. The piercer nodded, grabbing a box from under the counter and finding the jewelry in a sealed plastic pouch. He also grabbed a needle, again in a sealed plastic pouch, before looking back up at Matteo.</p>
<p>"Come this way," he said, turning to go to a back room, away from the windows. In the backroom was a chair, and a small table on wheels, with what appeared to be surgical tissue laid out on top. There was also a mask, a small container of ink, a box of alcohol wipes, and box of disposable nitrile gloves on the table, and the piercer pulled the mask over his face before pulling out and on a pair of gloves. Matteo nervously sat in the chair. </p>
<p>"Is it alright if I hold his hand?" David asked from behind the chair. Matteo turned to see him, then looked back to the piercer, who nodded.</p>
<p>"Just make sure you stand on the other side," he stated. He pulled out an alcohol wipe and ripped it open while asking, "so which side are you doing?" </p>
<p>"The left," Matteo responded, almost instantly. A second later the cold alcohol wipe was on his nose.</p>
<p>"Alright, I'm just sanitizing the area now, inside and out," the piercer explained, which helped calm his nerves. He also felt David take his hand, though he didn't look. Next, the piercer opened the needle, and dipped it into the ink. "Now I'm just gonna mark it so you can make sure you like the placement," he said. The needle was a gentle poke against his face, and a second later, the piercer said, "alright, can you check that out in the mirror?" </p>
<p>Matteo stood and walked up to the mirror on the opposite wall to get a good look at the small black dot on his nose. He nodded, and turned back to the piercer to walk back to his seat, "it looks good," he said, then sat back down. David's hand was back on his a second later, and the piercer opened the jewelry setting it down on the paper table top. </p>
<p>"Alright, so I want you to take some deep breaths, okay?" the piercer explained, needle in hand. "On the count of three, you're gonna feel a little pinch, and your eyes are gonna water. Happens to everyone, alright?” Matteo nodded, then held his head still as the piercer gently grabbed his chin, tilting it so he could see just right. After a few deep breaths the piercer quietly went, "one, two, three," and Matteo felt a sharp pain in his nose, his eyes immediately watering. The pain was gone a second later, and he opened his eyes, trying to blink away the tears that had formed. "Alright, so now I'm putting the flat-back in the inside of your nose and pushing the needle out," the piercer explained, hands working faster than he spoke. "And the end is on. Here's a tissue for your eyes," he said, handing Matteo a tissue from a box on a table he'd missed in his initial assessment of the room. After another second looking at the piercing, and piercer allowed him to get up and look at it. </p>
<p>"It looks amazing," Matteo mumbled, hand coming up, but dropping it before he touched his nose, knowing that wouldn't be any good. He turned back, giving David a bright smile. They filed out of the back room back to the counter, where Matteo paid for his piercing, and the piercer gave him a set of instructions which he folded and put into his jacket pocket. "Thank you," he said as he and David turned to leave the shop. </p>
<p>"You look really good," David said once they got outside, taking a good look at Matteo's new piercing. He pulled out his phone, snapping a picture of Matteo flipping him off while they both laughed. For the sake of his mom, he also let David take a nicer photo, him pointing at his new nose piercing, and rolling his eyes, nail polish also on display. </p>
<p>He waited until after they got back to the apartment (after running to the pharmacy for saline to clean his piercing) to send his mom the picture. She replied shockingly fast, stating she was about to text him and that the purple was a fabulous color for him, but she needed to get used to the piercing. Of course, she also asked permission to post it to her Facebook to "show him off," as she said, to her church friends. </p>
<p>Matteo consented, hoping that allowed the photo to make its way back to his father. It was also at that point that he posted the other photo to his Instagram, tagging the piercer as the location of the photo and also tagging David and thanking him for the moral support. After a moment’s hesitation he also posted it to r/piercing, with the caption ‘Was inspired by this sub to get my first piercing.’</p>
<p>He fell asleep that night with the positive comments from his friends, and the kind people of r/piercing, on both his nails and new jewelry running through his mind, and a smile on his face.</p>
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